The veil of secrecy

(Originally posted on October 26th 2009)

This whole Galleon affair has got me nervous. Where do you draw a line on insider trading? Can something I say about a particular hedge fund or share over the phone or a glass of whisky be counted as a recommendation to buy and later on become a candidate for hedge funds? I classify hedge funds into three categories.Funds that potentially can be suited for the family office, funds that I like and funds that I would feel comfortable to invest in. I do not think I have revealed the specific names of funds that the family has invested in. I have told people of funds that I like or do not like. However now I think I will keep that too to myself. Hopefully the lack of a current confidant will not cause me to burst my seams. I do miss the person I used to talk to. In this industry it is very hard to trust people and even harder for someone to understand what you are saying. I hope a quarter century from now my son will share my passion for the markets. I also hope that half a decade from now I will not be a Madoff. The last thing I would want is to spend the last 4 years of my life depending on the hospitality of His Majesty’s Prison Guard.